Are you feeling overwhelmed and at wit’s end? Enough going on – in general and especially now with a global pandemic and lock-down – and now I add to this stress by doing this whole MIDLIFE AT HOME TRAINING CAMP that you need to add to your list of things to do???

I feel you – trust me, I am right there with you… so let’s talk about how this all works together and how taking care of yourself, being healthily selfish, is actually something that makes you stronger and more resilient in the end to take care of everything else with more ease. Be healthily selfish to be at your best.
BEING HEALTHILY SELFISH is one of the core concepts of the Optimum You way of life. Take care of yourself – so that you can take care of everything else better and easier in the end. Win win.

A few ideas and thought starters on how to go about this:

You are doing your best

We are often our harshest critics – and we want to excel in all our different roles – whatever they may be.
Those roles all collide and are supposed to happen in harmony – now even more than usual. Supporting kids in home-school, getting work done, having the house under control, wearing things other than yoga pants, cooking up a storm, being in a good mood at all times, never lashing out at people…. and so on and so on…

Take a breath: YOU ARE DOING YOUR BEST.
We are all there with you.

Be kind to yourself

…with that, please make sure to be kind to yourself!

Catch yourself when you go into negative self talk, when you are mean to yourself (we all do that!) – and rephrase those sentences into positive sentences. Make it a point to be kind to yourself. Sure – if there is stuff to change over time, address things as you can – but do not beat yourself up and be down on yourself – that never leads to growth and resilience. In principle, and especially right now!
Self love is the only way to go!

Take time for yourself. Every day!

Make sure to book time to check in with yourself daily. See what you need to feel good and make sure to integrate little self supporting rituals into your day. A short meditation, a quick walk, a nice cup of coffee or tea in silence, a few minutes to read or write, a bath, a song you love…. whatever it is that supports YOU – fit it in and schedule little RITUALS FOR YOURSELF.
Schedule those in, make them a conscious and non-negotiable part of your day! I get up earlier than everybody else in the house to get my morning routine in – and I treasure it! It makes me better with myself – and others. I schedule time for movement, getting outside… and I treasure my conscious breaks like a yummy tea here, a quick walk, my favourite smoothie, integrating supplements, taking care of myself…

RELABEL a few things

Now here is a powerful idea for you. Being healthily selfish is a good thing, I think we can all agree on this by now… but what if being healthily selfish also means that we then chose to do things that are good for us. Because we want to. And because we love how good we feel as results.
Instead of making “living a healthy lifestyle” another thing on your list that you have to do to “be good” – make it an act of self care and self love. A brisk walk outside, a healthy, yummy meal, a more balanced snack, a yoga session…all these things support you in feeling your best – if you don’t make them something you have to fit in, but something you want to do for yourself – it completely changes your approach. Little steps.

I would love to hear how you all feel about this…. are you HEALTHILY SELFISH? Are you working towards it? Can you see, how it might make sense to be healthily selfish to be at your best?
Many of my clients feel like they can’t make time for themselves when we meet – and in the end, they find out they get way more done when they actually do – try it out – be healthily selfish.

So – here is my AT HOME MIDLIFE TRAINING CAMP CHALLENGE for this week: BE HEALTHILY SELFISH and find 3 small ways that you can do something for yourself. EVERY DAY!

I can’t wait to hear how this goes for you.

Be well,

Barbara